Published inMuddyUm·PinnedMember-onlyBamboozled by Bean BoozledIt was all fun and games until it wasn’t — — My daughter fell in love with all things Harry Potter. She flipped out when she saw real-life Harry Potter Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean! Full disclosure, I flipped out too! Touchable and edible Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans in real life? Sign me up! Then some sadist clown created a game, Bean Boozled, where good flavors and identical vomitous flavors are scrambled together in the same box.Games7 min readGames7 min read
Published inMuddyUm·PinnedMember-onlyFruit Cake Soda — Are You Out of Your Mind?Tip toeing through the mad new flavor craze-Mountain Dew Fruit Quake — My husband greeted me at the door, “I found the next new flavor for our taste testing,” his energy bounced. I’d never seen him so giddy. “Can I get inside first?” “Mountain Dew Fruit Quake!” He paused for clapping. I wasn’t about to clap — not for stinkin’ fruit cake. …Food And Beverage6 min readFood And Beverage6 min read
PinnedMember-onlyWendy Snyder’s ProfileHi and welcome, Feb. 2022 — I’m a wife, mom, and writer. All at the same time. Yeah, I’m that talented! I was a Risk Manager and worked at NASA for over 20 years. I have a master’s degree in business administration and a certificate in project management. …Coffee Times Movement3 min readCoffee Times Movement3 min read
Published inWhat Is Love To You?·Mar 31Member-onlyCaregiving for Your Hospice Parent and Swallowing the Horse PillWatching them fade before your eyes and accepting what’s coming is about as fun as falling into cactus — Parent caregiving. It’s hard. It’s heartbreaking. It’s your duty. Unless they abused you, in that case, eff that — let professionals take care of them. My mother-in-law hated depending on others for help, but she learned to accept it. …Family4 min readFamily4 min read
Published inILLUMINATION·Mar 29Member-onlyHow to Save Your Sanity, Marriage, and Roommate WoesWhile ending your toilet paper replacement wars — Overly dramatic? Not if you’re married. Or live with someone. News flash — leaving two squares on the toilet paper roll does not considerately make. No, it’s a power play disguised as empathy. “You didn’t notice it was down to three squares of tissue?” Sigh. “I call BS!” You left…Family4 min readFamily4 min read
Published inWendysWriting·Mar 29Member-onlyHow Not to Update Old Printers and Fax MachinesA Printer Raid by the IT Department — They came in and took every desktop printer in our department. “It felt like the FBI came in and raided us.” They took antique fax machines too. Are we supposed to reprint all of our blank forms with new fax numbers? Stressed voices raised their concerns. Shell-shocked faces walked around…Technology2 min readTechnology2 min read
Published inILLUMINATION·Mar 28Member-onlyPSA The Surprising Signs of a Heart Attack You Should Pay Attention ToI thought I was having asthma attacks, turns out they were freaking heart attacks and I’m a lucky son of a gun — Most have heard about chest pain that shoots down the left arm as a symptom of a heart attack, but there are other signs. They call them “silent”. I call them confusing, because most people don’t recognize them as warning symptoms for heart attacks. I was having most of them…Heart Attack10 min readHeart Attack10 min read
Published inWhat Is Love To You?·Mar 13Member-onlyThe Down and Jiggy WifeHow to make your husband happy, it’s not as kinky as it sounds — yet — My husband said something to me this morning and to acknowledge that I had heard him, I said, “I am down and jiggy with everything you just said.” His heart leapt with joy. “Dayyyam. I wish I could hear that all the time.” A smile split his face in time…What Is Love To You2 min readWhat Is Love To You2 min read
Published inILLUMINATION·Mar 12Member-onlyMore Caretaker Lessons LearnedNew Mantra — don't get out of bed, or you'll wind up dead — We've entered a scary new hospice care phase. IT'S REAL! And not fun. Don't get out of bed, or you'll wind up dead. That's our new mantra for my 96-year-old mother-in-law. I woke up at 2 am and grabbed the baby monitor. My mother-in-law was not in bed! "What the hell?" I screamed as I launched upward. My husband bolted…Caretakers6 min readCaretakers6 min read
Published inILLUMINATION·Mar 11Member-onlyHoly Flickering Solar Tiki LightsFake flickering fire has come a long way in the last few years — Flames — we’ve come to accept that fake is flawed. But times have changed. Fake flames now flicker, and not in that old Pirates of the Caribbean orange and red shiny gel sheets blowing in the wind kind of way either. Gel — those thin sheets of flexible plastic with…Family3 min readFamily3 min read